Steering Group

The PostdocNet Steering Group acts as the primary contact between the Max Planck General Administration and postdocs at individual institutes, and provides direction for PostdocNet by determining the network’s main goals for the year. Members of the Steering Group are elected by the external representatives each year at the General Meeting.

The current members of the Steering Group are:

Dr. Anneke Heins (Spokesperson) is a postdoc at the MPI for Marine Microbiology, isolating and characterizing spring bloom bacteria from the North Sea. Anneke can be reached here.

Dr. Felipe Nathan de Oliveira Lopes (Deputy Spokesperson) is a postdoc at the MPI for Plasma Physics, constructing a geometrical formulation of Hamiltonian Field Theory approach to better understand energy dissipation in turbulent Astrophysical Plasmas. Nathan can be reached here.

Dr. Nicholas Russell (General Secretary) is a postdoc at the MPI for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, where he mathematically models giant cell formation in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves. During his PhD at the University of Delaware, he served as the Graduate Student Representative on the Graduate Committee in the Department of Mathematical Sciences. He hopes to improve communication between the external representatives and to focus on immigration issues for postdocs coming from outside of Germany. Nicholas can be reached here.

Dr. Jeremias Brand (BMS Representative) is a postdoc at the MPI for Mulitdisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen, studying the effect of asexual reproduction on genome organization. He is interested in improving the working conditions and representation of postdocs in Germany. Jeremias can be reached here.

Dr. Sajjad Safaei (HSS Representative) is a postdoc at the MPI for Social Anthropology in Halle (Saale). His research interests span the disciplines of anthropology, law, sociology, international relations, history, and Middle Eastern studies. He hopes to help in advancing the long-term goals of both the Max Planck Society and PostdocNet. Sajjad can be reached here.

Dr. Bárbara Bellón (CPT Representative) is a postdoc at the MPI for Iron Research in Düsseldorf, studying the mechanical properties of pure metals at extreme conditions. She hopes to improve communication among postdocs in her section and focus on gender equality and immigration issues. Bárbara can be reached here.

Dr. Tracy Wietecha (Financial Officer)

Tracy Wietecha is a postdoc at the MPI for the History of Science. Her current research focuses on knowledge networks prevalent between institutions in Mexico, Peru, and Brazil and German scientists in the seventeenth century. She also organizes a working group that brings together scholars from the MPIWG and the Leopoldina National Academy of Science (Halle). Tracy is dedicated to increasing financial support for initiatives within the PostdocNet. Tracy can be reached here.